StillWell Star Aromatic No. 1 by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Cigar Review

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StillWell Star Aromatic No. 1 by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Cigar Review

WRAPPER: Ecuadorian Habano
BINDER: San Andreas Negro
FILLER: Black Cavendish, Golden Virginia, Burley, & undisclosed

FORMAT: Toro (652)
ORIGIN: Joya de Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Mild-medium/Medium

NOTES:

Vanilla | Sweet spices | Sandalwood

I get hit first by light-bright Golden Virginia, then its sweetness comes to rest in more sweetness via the underlining Black Cavendish. Like a mattress set atop a mattress and let me tell you, this princess can feel the pea. Said pea is a hard little spiky ball of Burley. Sugary. Floral. Some mulling spice. Surprisingly complex and never boring although a bit imbalanced w/ a sweet vanilla-like tilting. Tethered in a decent if not pedestrian cigar experience. A nice big canvas. A few broad strokes.

Taste is a mouth-thing and flavor is what incorporates smell. There, throw in some vanilla, a bit of orange blossom honey, and white peppercorn firmament. Earthen, if you look down far enough from the heighty blend... a sunlit hiking trail. Grassy all-along its sides. Complex in a pleasing way. A bit cloying if over-smoked. The finish is long and sinewy-strong. Graceful. A ballet dancer studying a martial art? Maybe Tai Chi whilst sipping Chai tea.

A bit of a snug draw seems somehow correct here. Nice smoke out-put actively, and more importantly, passively. Sit with it and in it... sit both still and well. If you sit with others, the aroma will never cross their olfactory sensibilities. Sandalwood. Burns on a tick of a wobble. Builds a neat sheath of ash. Wants to be puffed often lest it threatens to peter-out, a tricky thing since I made mention of not over-smoking. All-told pleasant, and calmly entertaining.

As a pipe smoker, I tend to shy well-away from aromatics. This cigar did not at all offend me. I'm sure it's greatly relieved to hear that.

TASTE: B+
DRAW: B+
BURN: B+
BUILD: B+

FINAL GRADE: B+
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

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Martial Arts in Sherlock Holmes Canon & Premium Tobacco Pairings Vol. 2 Single-Stick

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Martial Arts in Sherlock Holmes Canon 

& Premium Tobacco Pairings 

Vol. 2 Single-Stick

::: SINGLE-STICK IN SHERLOCKIAN CANON :::

"I'm a bit of a single-stick expert, as you know. I took most of them [the blows] on my guard. It was the second man that was too much for me." - Holmes to Watson, in The Adventure of the Illustrious Client [ILLU]. This, after Watson races to check in on him on account of that attack. You see, newspapers were fed a line which had him on or near his deathbed. Also, before he sends Watson off to learn all there is to learn in regards to Chinese Pottery. The two thugs, of course, were sent by renowned no-goodnik Baron Adelbert Gruner, he who has stolen the heart of poor Violet... a spell which must be broken.

"Is an expert singlestick player, boxer, and swordsman." - Watson on Holmes, A Study in Scarlet [STUD]  this from a list penned by Watson in hopes of understanding his new flat-mate. The full list reads: 

"1. Knowledge of Literature. - Nil. 2. Philosophy. - Nil. 3. Astronomy. - Nil. 4. Politics. - Feeble. 5. Botany. - Variable. Well up in belladonna, opium, and poisons generally. Knows nothing of practical gardening. 6. Geology - Practical, but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other.  After walks has shown me splashes upon his trousers, and told me by their colour and consistence in what part of London he had received them. 7. Chemistry - Profound. 8. Anatomy - Accurate, but unsystematic. 9. Sensational Literature - Immense. He appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in the century. 10. Plays the violin well. 11. Is an expert singlestick player, boxer, and swordsman. 12. Has a good practical knowledge of British law."

Keeping in mind this is a Watson still quite new to Holmes, and/or vice-versa. Some thoughts punintentionally 'stick,' and some do not--but it is a nice overview of Holmes in 12 easy steps. I believe also in STUD that when holmes attempts to bruise up a cadaver in the interest of forensic work, he employs a singlestick. It also is worth noting that Holmes often carries a cane, which could be wielded in a single-stick manner, need be. In a French form of stick-fighting known as Canne de Combat, there is a walking stick varietal. I believe, however, that the riding crop remains Sherlock's weapon of choice, "You could blow with this. You could blow with that." - Fatboy Slim. 

::: ON THE SPORT OF SINGLE-STICK :::

Ah, but first the singlestick itself: made of ash and slender-round with a basket hilt. The actual dimensions were about 34" long with about an inch diameter. The whole thing was tapered with the business-end being thinnest and the handle being thickest. The granddaddy of the singlestick was called a waster--a 16th-century practice Backsword. On the road from that to singlestick were cudgels, 17th-century clubs with hilts. The basket hilt was soon to follow, in replacement of metal.

As soon as the then modern form was found, rules were put in place, including NO HITTING BELOW THE GIRDLE. I'd imagine the more informal CHRIST NOT IN THE FUCKING FACE, co-evolved. President Theodore Roosevelt was a big fan of the codified sport, as he and General Leonard Wood would lump each other up as their tight schedules permitted. Then, in 1904, singlestick became a Summer Olympics sport. It didn't grab hold, however. The whole thing sorta vanished until its most recent of a few slight revivals--when the Royal Navy re-introduced it in the 1980s. 

::: SINGLE-STICK & PREMIUM TOBACCO PAIRINGS :::

First pipe tobacco. I'd recommend something sharp & zesty, because man, those singlesticks must have stung-some. In keeping with that--a perique-heavy Va/Per should sting your palate on-par with a singlestick to your just-above-girdle zone. That matter concluded authoritatively, we move now onto premium cigars where it's less about blend and more about vitola. Namely, Belicoso, Pyramid, Torpedo. 

These format names are oft used interchangeably in error. A Belicoso is typically a 5-6" by 50-52-ish ring gauge offering. The taper is shorter, more sudden than the other vitolas. A pyramid is traditionally tapered narrow head to wide foot, it's also the largest of the three confused figurados. Finally, we came to the Torpedo which used to have a bulge in its middle, a lot like you do currently. Nowadays though, they seem to just be noticeably shorter Pyramids. Also lost along with that bulge, was a closed foot.

That cleared up, a Belicoso would pair well with singlestick enjoyment or even after singlestick partaking. It is sharp in its lines, and why the very word means warlike, pugnacious. I suppose if you insist on bringing the blend back into the equation, a nicotine-heavy Nicaraguan would be at home here, particularly leaf hailing from the Esteli region.

::: COMPANION READING :::

Via the Search Kaplowitz Media. feature on the right of your screen, you can find other entries of this series. Namely, Baritsu. Next will be Boxing. Before that, there were card games (Whist, Ecarte, & Poker). Also, Adult beverages (Whiskey & Soda, Port, & Brandy). Entering any of these keywords should get you as afoot as the game.

::: REFERENCE MATERIALS :::

I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

Simanaitis Says

Holt's Cigar Company

Wikipedia

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Live from the Throne Room Episode Eleven of the Stolen Throne Cigars Program "Sport Walking"

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Live from the Throne Room 

Kaplowitz Media. Presents 

The Stolen Thrown Cigars Program 

Episode Eleven "Sport Walking"

[originally streamed live on IG 11/26/21]

Lee & I talk about the sport of Sport Walking. A challenge is accepted. A warning (regarding coffee creamers) is issued. Also, calling fouls in pick-up games and some geeking out over Japanese Strong Style pro wrestling. This one has it all, but don't they all?

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ON-DEMAND

Live from the Throne Room. Streamed live twice a month on a pop-up schedule. From the pop-culture inane to the cigar industry sublime. Most times w/ myself & Lee Marsh, other times w/ all or part of the Stolen Throne Cigars crew. 

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On "The Man with the Twisted Lip" from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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On "The Man with the Twisted Lip" [TWIS] 

from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

::: PUBLICATION HISTORY :::

The Strand Magazine (UK) December 1891

The Strand (US) January 1892

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Coll.) October 1892

::: NOTES :::

It all begins as a Watson adventure of sorts, to retrieve a wayward hubby from an opium den until whilst there... "Walk past me, and then look back at me." The words fell quite distinctly upon my ear. I glanced down. They could only have come from the old man at my side, and yet he sat now as absorbed as ever, very thin, very wrinkled, bent with age, an opium pipe dangling down from between his knees, as though it had dropped in sheer lassitude from his fingers. I took two steps forward and looked back. It took all my self-control to prevent me from breaking out into a cry of astonishment. He had turned his back so that none could see him but I. His form had filled out, his wrinkles were gone, the dull eyes had regained their fire, and there, sitting by the fire, and grinning at my surprise, was none other than Sherlock Holmes."

A ::: very ::: cinematic lens-friendly scene, that. So, we are again playing with costumes as we were before in A Scandal in Bohemia. & theatrics! I am not at all opposed to either of these. What I am, however, opposed to is when an all-important plot point borders on the implausible. What I mean here, is a thing which others have noted before--the likelihood of St. Clair garnering such wealth via begging. Make no mistake, there are other panhandlers of note throughout history, take the 18th-century rogue Bampfylde Moore Carew, the self-proclaimed "King of Beggars," for instance. Gautama Buddha and Lazarus also apparently got by with a little help from their friends (and strangers). Still, a stretch here indeed. And Doyle seems to know this, going out of his way to plead the case's case.

"I have watched the fellow more than once, before ever I thought of making his professional acquaintance, and I have been surprised at the harvest which he has reaped in a short time. His appearance, you see, is so remarkable that no one can pass him without observing him. A shock of orange hair, a pale face disfigured by a horrible scar, which, by its contraction, has turned up the outer edge of his upper lip, a bull-dog chin, and a pair of very penetrating dark eyes, which present a singular contrast ​to the color of his hair, all mark him out from amid the common crowd of mendicants, and so, too, does his wit, for he is ever ready with a reply to any piece of chaff which may be thrown at him by the passers-by." 

Perhaps he was a bit more of a busker of sorts? Now it's me who's trying to fix. But if it's a hard sell on the readers, this whole thing was a hard sell to St. Clair (AKA Hugh Bone), as well. "It was a long fight between my pride and the money, but the dollars won at last, and I threw up reporting, and sat day after day in the corner which I had first chosen, inspiring pity by my ghastly face, and filling my pockets with coppers." For all the guy's short-comings, I do like his pluck, perhaps and again, more than he does himself. An excellent 'nuff character. His wife and Watson's make an appearance too, and their hinted-at friendship is subtly world-building or at least providing of some although scant depth. All-told, much of the cast reads like thumbnail sketches. Watson and Holmes have their typical dynamic duo tendencies but also, no notable banter, at least off the top of my head.

I do find it hard to believe that St. Clair was willing to go as far as the gallows to protect his own image to the eyes of his offspring--but hey--theatrics! BIG DRAMA SHOW (but not really) Speaking of which, Holmes sponging him down as he slept in his jail cell was a fun bit. The opium den is another great setting. We are definitely treated to the seedy underbelly of Victorian Era London; a treat I am always both down with and up for.  Or is it down for and up with? I've aired my grievances with plot, now as to problem and solution: I deem them each worthy of a mere quarter of my allotted points. There's just not enough at stake, nor is the conclusion anything more than an erasing of what leads up to it. Ultimately, this is a fun bit of costuming low-stakes filler. Although the costuming pales in comparison to SCAN and as filler--falls shy of the charm in A Case of Identity. 

I simply don't get why Doyle ranked this 16 of his 19 favorite Sherlock Holmes stories. It falls flat for me and makes me wish I graded IDEN higher, but no regerts. One bit of Sherlockian can of worms opened in this tale is Mary calling Watson "James." Her husband's name is John. It's canon some four times over. The inimitable Dorothy L. Sayers addressed this in her work Dr Watson's Christian Name (1946) and since imitating is out of the question, I beseech you to search that bit of Sherlockian Scholarship for yourself. My $0.02 is that ACD either goofed or couples have always had little pet names for each other. I'm known as "*&$%@" to a slew of exes, for instance. One more & final knock, and this time on the setting category I've lauded thus far--needs more 221b.

 

CHARACTERS: 1/2

SETTING: 1.5/2
PLOT: 0.5/2
PROBLEM: 0.5/2
SOLUTION: 0.5/2

FINAL GRADE: 4/10

I'd like to take a moment to remind you kind Gentlepersons that I write these thoughts under the assumption of you having read these adventures. They are readily available everywhere, including for free at Project Gutenberg as well as Wikisource, where you can listen to it read, as well.

Also, please bear in mind that this post is part of a series in which I'm working through every case in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. For other entries in this series, use the Search Kaplowitz Media. function to the right of your screen and plug in either particular adventures contained within that collection, or The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

Finally, please do check out I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere and Interesting Though Elementary, a pair of Sherlockian spots elsewhere on the internet that I highly recommend and at times use in my own research.

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Kaplowitz Media. Cigars of the Month (November 2021)

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Kaplowitz Media. 

Cigars of the Month (November 2021)

ATL Libertad

Cedar | Cocoa butter | Lemon meringue

Rated: A-

Casa Cuevas Patrimonio

Citrus | Leather | Terra cotta

Rated: A

Mombacho Diplomatico

Cedar | Does anyone put honey in their coffee? | Mulling spices

Rated: A-

Mombacho Tierra Volcan

Hardwoods | Spices | Molasses

Rated: A-

If you'd like to read the full reviews, simply employ the search field to the right of your screen. thx

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The Return of the Pharaoh: From the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D. by Nicholas Meyer | A Book Review

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The Return of the Pharaoh: 

From the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D. 

by Nicholas Meyer | A Book Review

TITLE: 

The Return of the Pharaoh: 

From the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D. 
AUTHOR: Nicholas Meyer
GENRE: Mystery, Pastiche

PUBLISHER: Minotaur Books
RELEASE: 2021
PAGES: 272

"Six feet, if possible, is a good rule of thumb." This is Meyer's lockdown project. That's cool, I had and have my own. The quote is to Watson from Juliet's doctor. Consumption. Tuberculosis. Covid. "I looked over to see Juliet's delicate features, but hers were obscured by the white mask that covered her nose and mouth." Too soon, man. But how soon exactly, until seeing the full of a woman's face is akin to the Victorian Era sexy of catching glimpse of a bare wrist or, daresay bare ankle. Is it getting hot in here? Heat. A word right out of the gate--this tale starts a tick cold but heats up well and quickly enough. I felt like I needed to worm my way in a bit. A tight tunnel leading into a pyramid's gold.

So much in reading through the book shows Meyer to have excellent Canon familiarity. But then again of course he does--and with that, it scans slightly as fanfic in the ways it is showcased. "You have not been in Afghanistan, I perceive," and "Violet something," Holmes mutters amongst other Vs in his steam room attempt at cracking a deadman's code. How Watson is less than accurate in his dating is charming and itself accurate but then a single POSH pulls you right out. Now I am nit-picking my nit-picks. How better to flex? More subtlety. But it also does ring as old pals needling one-another about 'that one time, you remember.' Is this griping me sensing what the cool kids refer to as 'fan service?' Dunno.

I tend to view pastiche as the slew of writers who've penned Batman stories over the many years. Except that instead of DC hiring you for the gig, you hire yourself. Then the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle attempts to sue you for a slice of the public domain pie. Nevertheless, Mayer does what he does and I like what he does, a lot even. One thing is he plucks Holmes out of 221b and takes the deduction show on unfamiliar roads. He gives these nods and then expands. We find Watson's finances to be quite POSH on account of the success of his chroniclings of Holmes. Meanwhile, Holmes continues to charge clients as always... another copy/paste(ish) mention is in the book. "My professional charges are upon a fixed scale. I do not vary them, except when I remit them altogether." - HOUN and also here in Pharaoh.

First and foremost, I feel Meyer embodies ACD best. Even though Horowitz is the superior pastiche renderer, insofar as Doylean technique. With Meyer, it's more of a kindred ethos tapped vein. I recall an interview he did (on the I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere podcast) wherein he said that Doyle couldn't write a boring sentence. That's here in spades--even when he attempts to shine a light on the boredom of investigative drudgeries. In short, this is a Spillane-level page-turner, but you feel a little smart after. Before moving on, both these men (Meyer, Horowitz) are very important to us because after them we somehow popularly have the fanciful whimsical Gaiman in the wings, a middle-aged man who for whatever reason, now writes like a teenage girl.

I mentioned POSH, another bit of iffy-ness is how Watson at times sticks himself too into his own narration, "waving my hands like an agitated orchestra leader." I did not like that jaggedness. I did like "You will pardon my saying so, Watson, but you rather coddle your readers." A cute and another Canon hat tip to Holmes chiding of Watson's chronicling. I've always, among others, have wondered why Watson shares these scoldings. Maybe Joseph Campbell had it all wrong with his "You are the Hero of your own Story.” But Watson in Egypt kinda is sorta accidentally and almost but not really the hero. More importantly, he is purposefully drawn just as smart as I like; as we seem to be forever overcoming Rathbone's dummy sidekick expectations.

By now you've most likely noticed I'm giving precious little away insofar as anything. Good. Get the book. Even though north of twenty bucks is steep, but I'm cheap--and bought it anyway and unregrettably-so. In broad strokes and in the name of proving I actually read the thing, we do get glimpses of Holmes the human. Holmes the mensch. "Rather than cover his own, Holmes clapped his hands on either side of the dutchess's head." We get some fantastic characters. We also get a surprise bit of adventure in the sands, a part of the tale in which I almost sensed some sort of 'American section' about to unfurl--a story within a story. If that's the case, Meyer did it better--altho abbreviated--and ACD didn't do it badly at all.

Egyptology galore, trains, treason, exotic locales, spies & subterfuge, something of an escape room, and murder. What's not to like? What's not to like? Somewhat simpler than expected writing as in lower than ACD grade-level, some awkward stops and starts choppiness, a feeling of it being too modern at times. Perhaps a Covid TRIGGER WARNING is needed? In fairness, however, this is the first book in forever that I waited on the release of, and pounced on purchasing. I even braved a first gen. hippie independent bookstore clerk who sounded quite high as fuck when we chatted on the phone. All that, and it did not disappoint. Alas, there's always Amazon. Fuck Amazon. 

A Columbo-ian "Just one more thing," then I'll let you go. I recently read (and will soon review here) Meyer's The West End Horror" in which a piling on of 'c'mon, that historically famous person, too?' occurs. I get glancing blows of that here in The Return of the Pharaoh (PHAR?). Actually perhaps just a singular instance, I forget now. In each book, it pulls me right out, as they say--but as I said, it's kept in check here, in a way that is more than just in comparison. I suppose I like my Sherlockian universe a one of this unto itself. 

3.75/5 stars.

I don't know who needs to hear this but pg.209 final graph. "It was a an odd..."

NOTE:  I was quite vague here, I know, and made mention of. I'm both acutely aware of the social stigma of spoilers particularly in new materials, as well as I always just want you to read the dang book (this book and whichever-other). Then I'd like you to not tell me about what it is you thought of it.

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Isla del Sol Maduro in Review

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Drew Estate Isla del Sol Maduro in Review

WRAPPER: Nicaragua
BINDER: Nicaragua
FILLER: Nicaragua

This is a sweet-tip coffee-infused cigar.

FORMAT: Churchill (750)
ORIGIN: La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate, Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Light-medium/Medium

NOTES:

Hot chocolate | Chicory | Red spices

A greater bit of chocolate and chicory (front & back) than coffee in either spot. Some red spices trail further behind than even the vaguely scorched behind. Cloying sweetness via a never fully dissipating sugar-tip. Also tho, a watery almost effervescent delivery at times. Loosely acai berry. More tightly Anisette. I really don't see the coffee. Unless they're mimicking a diabetic shock-inducing latte.

O, irony of ironies--this would pair terribly with coffee. I'm sure it's the perfect smoke for an occasion I've yet to experience. This thing isn't about balance, or complexity, or nuance. It's meant to be a sweet nothing whispered in your smoke-hole. I suppose it accomplishes that. Was it Bob Costa who said race walking was like seeing who could whisper the loudest?

Burns on a hot wobble and comes/stays astonishingly under-packed. Just about the softest cigar I recall smoking. However, the draw is somehow still smooth and the seams/cap hold admirably well. Ash grows nice for what I believe to be a sandwich filler. Room-note is taste and the imagery there is hot cocoa in a wood-paneled ski lodge... the budget version, if such a thing exists.

TASTE: B+
DRAW: B
BURN: B
BUILD: B-

FINAL GRADE: B
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

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Mombacho Cigars Casa Favilli in Review

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Mombacho Cigars Casa Favilli in Review

WRAPPER: Nicaraguan Broadleaf
BINDER: Nicaraguan
FILLER: Nicaraguan

FORMAT: Robusto
ORIGIN: Casa Favilli, Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Medium

NOTES:

Chocolate | Coffee | Spiced cedar

Pretty much a smokeable Caffe mocha, and I ain't complaining. The chocolate is dark, rich, and syrupy--almost a liquor. The coffee is an equally-rich espresso pull, complete with a nice crema vibe. Cedar bulds and holds nice delineations, exhibiting its own back-end of black pepper and smoked paprika. ::: very ::: much the profile one would expect from the blend, and delivered quite well. The finish is a long-legged extension of top-notes, ending cleanly. Nothing fancy, but tasty. Done well. 

Excellent balance and roundness. Heavy earthen note topped with savory leather forms the under-belly. Deeply nuanced, lesser-so but passably complex. Ins&outs of buckwheat honey and dark toasted barley. Mouthfeel is a bit cakey but not cloyingly-so. With all the bold tho refined notes, a good look-see of tobacco can be seen. This makes for what scans as a textbook classic offering. A Broadleaf showcase. Aromas and room-note are a gentleman's study. Leathery, a bit musty, and kindly sweet. 

Insofar as mechanics, the flavor is definitely on-ahead of those. A wobbly burn, fugly ash, and soggy at times uneven draw, all ding the final grade. On the plus side, seams hold and build stays mainly where it begins pre-light. Smoke out-put meanders around moderate both in terms of passive and active. Burns almost too coolly at times; feels a tick lethargic, lumbering. But if the flavor profile is so on-brand with Broadleaf, I suppose it makes sense performance would be, as well. 

TASTE: A-
DRAW: B+
BURN: B
BUILD: B+

FINAL GRADE: B+
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

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Excerpt IV from the Kaplowitz Media. Unnamed Cigar Dictionary Project

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Excerpt IV from the Kaplowitz Media. Unnamed Cigar Dictionary Project (UCD)

Jalapa Alongside Esteli and Condega, Jalapa is one-third of Nicaragua’s main growing regions, as well as being its most subtle tobacco insofar as flavor. Due to this inherent refinement, leaf from Jalapa is often used as wrapper. See both Esteli and Condega entries for more and somewhat repetitive information.

Condega One of the three major tobacco-growing regions of Nicaragua, the others being Esteli and Jalapa. Leaf from Condega tends to sit between the others stated, in the context of strength. Jalapa being the most subtle, and Esteli the brawniest. 

Ever get cigar sick? (Speaking of strong tobacco.) Take a spoonful of sugar or a pip of chocolate. It’ll set you right as rain by balancing out the sugars in your sugar system or something. NOT A DOCTOR.

So you see (as a reminder) the UCD will be more than simply a dry bit of reference material. There will also be helpful little tips, delightful little stores, and thought-provoking opinions. This is becoming a LOT of work.

Esteli In Northern Nicaragua there exists this black-soiled and sun-drenched growing region where the country’s strengthiest tobacco is grown. See: Condega (milder leaf) and Jalapa (milder still). Beyond the brawn of tobacco from Esteli, expect full flavors of nuanced spiced earthiness. The aroma is a special something, too. See also: Olfactory… not to be confused with “This ol’ factory rolls some great smokes!”

Do you know what I always get a kick out of seeing in books? Little maps. Perhaps I'll draw one myself for use in placing growing regions in the mind's eye of readers. Heck, maybe I'll just handle all the illustrations. A LOT of work. Yup. Gonna take some time before this is a completed project. THERE IS NO TIME FRAME. Enjoy these updates for now.

FUN FACT: there is no 'K' entry. Yet, anyway. 

Label The decorative bit of branding affixed to the underside of a cigar box lid. Also sometimes wrongly used as a synonym for cigar band. I mean, that usage is always wrong–I just don’t hear it all the time, hence the 'sometimes.'

::: FONT GUIDE :::

Excerpt from the work-in-progress book (UCD).
My thoughts on the work-in-progress book (UCD).

Italics within definitions are recommendations to see that entry.

::: WHAT DID I JUST READ? :::

As you Gentlepersons hopefully know or are at the ::: very ::: least now FINALLY aware of under that rock of yours, I am constructing a Cigar Dictionary. A book. It is yet to have been named. Its working title is "Unnamed Cigar Dictionary" (UCD). I will change that "As soon as possible" (ASAP). Nevertheless, the idea of the whole thing, the game plan, is that I will blog the process of creating & assembling the UCD on a non-scheduled basis.

Included in these blog posts will be my italicized thoughts regarding said creating & assembling process--and as we get closer to it being a book proper, the process of that, as well. THESE WILL NOT BE INCLUDED IN THE FINISHED BOOK. Please note that not everything, including the whole or part of definitions, will appear in the finished book.

To read other excerpts, search Unnamed Cigar Dictionary or UCD, in the Search Kaplowitz Media. field to the right of your screen.  

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On "The Five Orange Pips" from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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On "The Five Orange Pips" [FIVE] from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

::: PUBLICATION HISTORY :::

The Strand Magazine (UK) November 1891

The Strand Magazine (US) December 1891

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Coll.) October 1892

::: NOTES :::

"Some, too, have baffled his analytical skill, and would be, as narratives, beginnings without an ending, while others have been but partially cleared up, and have their explanations founded rather upon conjecture and surmise than on that absolute logical proof which was so dear to him." Well, you can't say Watson didn't call his narrative shot right there in paragraph number the first. Then in the next, he intros maybe the main or at the least most pivotal character of the tale--the aggressively gloomy weather.

Then, we get to one John Openshaw. A young man who serves to posit sins-of-the-father lines of questioning and examining; for his inheritance, unbeknownst to him, is of evil roots.  An interesting conversation ensues between Openshaw and Holmes, with Watson looking on. A large part of this is ::: very ::: steeped in the times of Victorian England--because, yes--we now all quite know what those initials stand for. It's within that bit of oddity, or alongside it, that Holmes poo-poos the Popo, and utters: "I am the last court of appeal." Tuck that in your brain-attics, Gentlepersons.

Also in that initial (and final) consultation: “Do not think of revenge, or anything of the sort, at present. I think that we may gain that by means of the law; but we have our web to weave, while theirs is already woven.” May. hmmm (brain-attics). Alas, not only will revenge be at the least postponed, but immediately after leaving 221b, Openshaw is murdered in much the same way as was his uncle & father. Thus marking the first of only two times that Holmes loses a client. (The other is Hilton Cubitt in The Adventure of the Dancing Men.)

“That hurts my pride, Watson,” he said at last. “It is a petty feeling, no doubt, but it hurts my pride. It becomes a personal matter with me now, and, if God sends me health, I shall set my hand upon this gang." (Brain-attics.) Interesting, how ACD frames the juxtaposition in this one. Fate is at work and free will cannot be flexed even by a Baritsu master of a thinking machine such as Holmes. He can stop neither weather nor God from acting in mysterious ways. We are all but farts in the gales of London, and in light of this, we see Holmes here at his most human. Not sure if 'juxtaposition' is the right word, but it's a good one.

But the young Openshaw's death: "It is conjectured that he may have been hurrying down to catch the last train from Waterloo Station, and that in his haste and the extreme darkness he missed his path and walked over the edge of one of the small landing-places for river steamboats," ran the morning papers. Let me now introduce a similar bit from elsewhere in canon: 

“'Jack has been lost overboard in gale off St. Helena. No one knows how accident occurred." That from The Valley of Fear [VALL] regarding how Birdy Edwards was said to have met his fate and doom at the stroke of Sherlock's arch-nemesis. Is this FIVE death of a young heir a fine spot in which to retro-fit Moriarty, or what? Does Moriarty wield these men who leave pips and murder? The Modus Operandi fits, as well as I have heard Sherlockian Scholarship refer to VALL's Boss McGinty as an American Moriarty.

So we have the problem, we'll get to the solution more & soon, but for now, let's have at the plot. Big grading ding here with a good dose of both willy-nilly chronological time-hopping, as well as Watson spousal confusions. Let's tackle chronology and let's do-so in regards to Irene Adler. Please then allow me to plug in the following from my On "A Scandal in Bohemia" from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle...

"So, this one isn't about Holmes being bested by the woman, as he was not. He has, again, a happy client and no criminal has retained nor gained their freedom. Plus, nothing took him unawares. Later in the canon, Holmes reminisces about being bested only four times, thrice by men and once by a woman. 

"Not the woman as we have been told he refers to her as. Also, we hear of this in The Five Orange Pips, which chronologically occurs a year prior to SCAN. Furthermore, that's hardly the mention you'd expect from a fellow who could have earned a chunk of a kingdom and settled instead on a cabinet photo of his true and perhaps favorite unofficial client."

In short, this whole dang thing is iffy, albeit iffy written in a super-entertaining and mood-driven manner. Not bad at all, quite good even. Then we get to the solution. Holmes has sent a client off to his doom and has sworn to exact his revenge on the murderous clan of continent-hopping Florida citrus pit omening fanatics. He sends them the self-same omen of their own impending doom--on ahead for them to receive in America. Except...

"There is ever a flaw, however, in the best laid of human plans, and the murderers of John Openshaw were never to receive the orange pips which would show them that another, as cunning and as resolute as themselves, was upon their track. Very long and very severe were the equinoctial gales that year. We waited long for news of the Lone Star of Savannah, but none ever reached us. We did at last hear that somewhere far out in the Atlantic a shattered stern-post of a boat was seen swinging in the trough of a wave, with the letters “L. S.” carved upon it, and that is all which we shall ever know of the fate of the Lone Star."

Hard to tell if this is like a poker game bad beat, ten-thousand spoons when all you need is a knife,--or Sherlock Holmes murdering them all and covering his tracks as well as you'd expect (you may now empty your brain-attics). What we do know is that something super-similar to this anti-climactic ending is employed in The Adventure of the Resident Patient, simply supplant Lone Star for Norah Creina wreckage whilst cargoing abroad the baddies. This is all to say that this story lacks in some major ways, if scratched beneath its somehow delightful to read militant melancholy maliciousness.

In closing, much of FIVE reads like viewing an artist's hand study sketchings. You draw a hand this way, you draw the same hand that way, you do it again. Again. Again. & again. I will say the hand sketching here is quite a ways along insofar as technique. But why not let the murderers escape and further highlight injustice and spooky tale tellings of on-the-loose killers with their travel expenses paid-for? Why must God be good? Is it chilly in here or is it just my (tingling) spine? 

Still, this is a hopeless if not nihilistic adventure. A Seinfeld episode written by Meursault.

CHARACTERS: 1.5/2
SETTING: 2/2
PLOT: 1.5/2
PROBLEM: 1.5/2
SOLUTION: .5/2

FINAL GRADE: 7/10

I'd like to take a moment to remind you kind Gentlepersons that I write these thoughts under the assumption of you having read these adventures. They are readily available everywhere, including for free at Project Gutenberg.

::: COMPANION READING :::

Want to read more Kaplowitz Media. Sherlockiana? Click on the Sherlockian Scholarship link under the Index header (to the right of your screen). There, you'll be told to use the search feature atop the upper-right of your screen... so maybe you could just skip to that?

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::: very :::

Mombacho Cigars Liga Maestro in Review

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Mombacho Cigars Liga Maestro in Review

WRAPPER: Nicaraguan
BINDER: Nicaraguan
FILLER: Nicaraguan

FORMAT: "Gordo" Robusto 554
ORIGIN: Casa Favilli, Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Medium-full/Full

NOTES:

Dark Chocolate | Black pepper | Toasted (spiced) cream

A resolute blend. No nonsense. Grainy black & white footage of a barnstorming heavyweight from days of yore. Menacing, then? Maybe not, but I wouldn't poke it. Heavy rich dark chocolate. Brawny black pepper by the loaded-gloves full. A bolstering, somewhat cushioning, and well-rounding cream with its own red spice melange. Strange how a savory smoked meatiness works the midsection--and how I'm also unsure it's there at times.

... a fighter who steals a round by finishing in a flurry? Lots of grains in the gut. Heavily-toasted barley & buckwheat. How the cream fills-up the primaries, espresso does the secondaries. This whole thing advances, swarms, using a shift that would make Marciano himself quite proud. Never off-balance and each punch is heavy. An interesting way to build moderate-plus nuance but insofar as complexities--a tick lacking. Although floating like a butterfly ain't this thing's (speed) bag. 

Mechanics are germane to the entirety of my pugilistic analogies. The burn is slow, plodding, even-lined, and paced. Ash grows in darkish oily inches. Draws smooth and gives plenty of smoke. Sating AF. Packing, seams, cap, all hold stoically. Nothing about this thing tires, although it does tire me some, in an admirable way--it just keeps coming... including into a long bittersweet finish. And even after it's gone, that finish wafts about as aroma then room-note, all heavy and not at all fucking around. 

TASTE: B+
DRAW: A-
BURN: B+
BUILD: A-

FINAL GRADE: B+
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

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::: very :::

Kaplowitz To-day Daily Podcast Episodes for the Week of November 8-12

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Kaplowitz To-day Daily Podcast Episodes for the Week of November 8-12

PLEASE NOTE: Kaplowitz To-day has moved to the Kaplowitz Media. YouTube channel. You can view the latest episode (at the time of this writing) HERE. But hey, have a look around. Subscribe. Click like. Blah blah notification bell. Meh.

The below dates are links to listed shows. Links open in Spotify. Kaplowitz To-day is/was available on many other podcast catchers, just search for Kaplowitz Radio. thx

NOVEMBER 8

I Review a cup of The Human Bean Coffee.

NOVEMBER 10

The Man Flu Episode.

NOVEMBER 12

Hotdogs and Perique.

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::: very :::

Mombacho Cigars Diplomatico in Review

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Mombacho Cigars Diplomatico in Review

WRAPPER: Ecuadorian Habano
BINDER: Nicaraguan
FILLER: Nicaraguan

FORMAT: Robusto
ORIGIN: Casa Favilli Factory, Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Medium-full

NOTES:

Cedar | Does anyone put honey in their coffee? | Mulling spices 

Wood and woodsy vegetal, with a deep spiciness. Oaken on the front, cedary on the back, and into finish. Big notes, placed far-apart with a slight sweetness twixt. I can only wonder if its namesake Rum pairing would flood those chasms with more sugars. Then in the 2/3, the sweet component picks up on its own. Honey, raw sugar. Not cloying but close. Spices: cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, paprika to keep it honest. Red pepper flake, all by itself. A long sip of an Americano happens at mid-point; stops before the 3/3.

The warm vegetal aspect evolves some toasted heavy grains, those hit the profile's midsection. Also, there are cereal grains, a different honey--an orange blossom--and a slight roasted orange. Something intriguing happens in the underbelly. Earthen with a ray or two of piercing light. Dusty. Pale leather and poultry. Interesting is how it's delivered, not its content. It pulses. I mentioned cedar on the finish... a lengthy finish, w/ hints of cleansing minty citrus and overt sweet-spice. Lots happening. A charismatic blend. Purposeful delivery.

Clear delineations and flexible borders, dig? Excellent balance after the 1/3. I'll say superb complexities and then go back to excellent for regarding nuance. I like to keep these reviews at three paragraphs--so, quickly, performance: Smooth draw, at times a half-tick hesitant; likes double-puffed. No-complaint slowly paced burn that starts a bit quicker, slows. Stack-of-dime ash. The pack does spongy-up a bit via progression. Highlights are the aroma and room-note as each is exceptional, exhibiting clearly, all the profile's fairly-brawny intricacies. 

TASTE: A-
DRAW: B+
BURN: A-
BUILD: B+

FINAL GRADE: A-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

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::: very :::

Brand New Audio/Video Programming

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Brand New Audio/Video Programming

::: AUDIO :::

1st & 15th is back to its original podcast form and at its own RSS feed which Phil Kurut is so kind as to tend. Give a listen to us (as Phil wrote) "discuss mustachioed men, pinky rings, beards, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in this episode of 1st & 15th. Where's Harvey Keitel? Kaplowitz Media & Comedy-Cigars-Music." Here's a LINK to where you can hear that episode, "Peanut Butter & Jelly Catastrophe."

::: VIDEO :::

Kaplowitz To-day was, until today, the official Kaplowitz Media. Podcast. NOW INSTEAD Kaplowitz To-day is a daily M-F YouTube show (still official) typically about 10mins long per episode. Tobacciana & Sherlockiana are each discussed but Kaplowitz Media. maintains center-stage as well as focus. You can watch Kaplowitz To-day for November 15, 2021 by visiting HERE. 

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::: very :::

Excerpt III from the Kaplowitz Media. Unnamed Cigar Dictionary Project

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Excerpt III from the Kaplowitz Media. Unnamed Cigar Dictionary Project [UCD]

Gran Corona See: A (Size).

A (size) Otherwise known as Grand Corona by Cuban standards, is a vitola measuring nine and a quarter inches in length by a ring gauge of forty-seven. Non-Cuban factories allow some deviation from these dimensions. Short Robusto, Rothschilds–tomato, tom-ah-toe. But who the hell says “tom-ah-toe?” or “Short Churchill,” for that matter. A short Churchill would have never been able to stand up to Hitler. Thanks for embarking upon my glossary. First entry. More on Churchill later. No more on the other fellow.

"Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand."

Hand Rolled A term at times used interchangeably with Handmade. Could mean the exact same thing–but could also be a work-around of sorts. Hand-rolled can also mean that the wrapper leaf alone is rolled-on by hand, while the bunching is done by machine. Tricky business, eh? Plainly, only Handmade means 100% made by hand, sans machine.

Does anyone remember that Hand Rolled cigar flick from a little bit of time ago? I've not gotten around to seeing it yet. That's neither interesting nor (particularly if you know me) surprising. But here is something I'm cooking up for the UCD that might SHOCK YOU... A is for Apple. B is for Boy. Amazing, huh? But that's not all. 

I'm thinking that each chapter or letter will begin with a C is for Cat, type opening. Except C would be, say, for Combustion. In other words, a thing not with its own entry but one that I could tell a cute little story about. C is for Combustion, have I ever told you about my Great Uncle burning his house down with my Great Aunt asleep inside? Didn't happen. But a cute little story. These will be more cigar-related.

Inhale If ever mentioned in cigar smoking circles, always in the manner of drawing smoke into your mouth. Never your lungs. Retro-haling, blowing smoke out your nose in order to more greatly engage your olfactory senses, does not involve taking smoke into your lungs. 

The importance of retro-haling, as of late, has been severely over-stated. More important than learning how to force smoke out of your nose, is learning to sit with the smoke in your mouth. Roll it around in there. Chew it. "This is a delicious cut of prime rib." States the cigar aficionado, immediately after blowing half-chewed chunks of cow out of his nostrils.

The old Cuban masters would think you were nuts if they found out you blew smoke out your nose. I feel like a lot of this retro-hale craze is due to the need 'cigar media' has for content and points of discussion. Heck, even I discussed the retro-hale for an hour on an old podcast of mine. No regerts. I believe my concluding advice was "Take a draw. Keep your mouth tightly closed. You will eventually either retro-hale or die." 

::: WHAT DID I JUST READ? :::

As you Gentlepersons hopefully know or are at the ::: very ::: least now FINALLY aware of under that rock of yours, I am constructing a Cigar Dictionary. A book. It is yet to have been named. Its working title is "Unnamed Cigar Dictionary" (UCD). I will change that "As soon as possible" (ASAP). Nevertheless, the idea of the whole thing, the game plan, is that I will blog the process of creating & assembling the UCD on a non-scheduled basis. 

Included in these blog posts will be my italicized thoughts regarding said creating & assembling process--and as we get closer to it being a book proper, the process of that, as well. THESE WILL NOT BE INCLUDED IN THE FINISHED BOOK. Please note that not everything, including the whole or part of definitions, will appear in the finished book. 

::: FONT GUIDE :::

Excerpt from the work-in-progress book (UCD).

My thoughts on the work-in-progress book (UCD).

Italics within definitions are directions to see that entry.

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::: very :::

Kaplowitz To-day for November 12, 2021

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Kaplowitz To-day for November 12, 2021

Check out the daily Monday-Friday roughly 15 minutes long per episode official Kaplowitz Media. podcast wherever you already listen to those sort of things. Tobacciana & Sherlockiana are each discussed. RATE & REVIEW! meh.

::: very :::

Escudo Navy De Luxe Pipe Tobacco in Review

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Escudo Navy De Luxe Pipe Tobacco in Review

CATEGORY: Virginia/Perique (VaPer)
BLEND: Perique, Virginia
FLAVORING: none

BLENDER: Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG)
MANUFACTURER: Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG)

CUT: Coin-cut
PIPE: Old Dominion Williamsburg Clay
INTENSITY: Mild-medium/Medium

NOTES:

Milk chocolate | Candied lemon | Black pepper

Speaking to my personal style of grading, there are some offerings that simply 'test well.' I begin believing each review will end in an A. I then deduct accordingly. An A+ is just a special and rare thing in which I hear angels sing or myself say "Oh." As to this pipe tobacco at hand, I hear nothing, but too, find no obvious dings. A carefully, no, deftly assembled VaPer. Sweet, tangy, and quite smooth w/ just the most perfect little perique kick there maybe ever was. Milk chocolate dipped candied lemon slices. Black pepper with anise accompaniment.

Plum-forward mid-section but quickly-so and then some grassy elements ease in over-top. Sunny, not glaringly-bright. Tethered in pale grains and chicken coop. Golden hay. Hey! Some nuttiness--macadamia brings tidings. An excellent and lauded benchmark of its category. Sweet and spice interplay so garsh-darned well. Pinewood borderings. Finishes in crisp sweet palate and tingly cheeks, lips. Friggin' classic and about as flawless as can be. Calm and steady. I'll try a kvetch... the body is a bit lesser-so than I'd find to be in exquisite proportion. 

It does, insofar as performance, seem to take a half-bit more relights than it could, but that's a fair trade-off for a ::: very ::: cool smoke. Quite the dry bowl. Quite the powdery ash, "Scientifically manufactured" runs the label, in part. I'd buy and apply that to a certain lack of inherent charisma. Although the delicate room-note does scan as mildly jovial. Not a twinkly eye, maybe--but a slight and knowing grin. Maybe the most adept blend there is. How's this?... Reality TV relies on fuck-ups for entertainment. No one loves a show where everyone just does their job. That is until they see one (which they never will but you get the gist). 

TASTE: A
AROMA: A
BURN: A-

FINAL GRADE: A-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

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::: very :::

Kaplowitz To-day Daily Podcast Episodes for the Week of November 1-5

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Kaplowitz To-day Daily Podcast 

Episodes for the Week of November 1-5

Links below open in Spotify.

Episodes can be heard everywhere*.

NOVEMBER 1

How to fix plugged cigars.

NOVEMBER 2

HBO's 1993 Hound of the Baskervilles.

NOVEMBER 3

Mad Fiddler Flake pipe tobacco.

NOVEMBER 4

Figure it out yourself. Cigars 101.

NOVEMBER 5

Mombacho Cigars Casa Favilli.

*many other podcast players. Search for Kaplowitz Radio.

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::: very :::

Live from the Throne Room Episode Ten of the Stolen Throne Cigars Program "O Canada"

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Live from the Throne Room
Kaplowitz Media. Presents
The Stolen Thrown Cigars Program
Episode Ten "O Canada"

[originally streamed live on IG 11/7/21]

We chat about boxing, MMA, how I've (kinda) taken a lover, and Lee's home country of Canada. THREE KINGDOMS IS COMING!!! listen in order to find out when.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ON-DEMAND

Live from the Throne Room. Streamed live twice a month on a pop-up schedule. From the pop-culture inane to the cigar industry sublime. Most times w/ myself & Lee Marsh, other times w/ all or part of the Stolen Throne Cigars crew. 

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::: very :::

Mombacho Cigars Tierra Volcan in Review

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Mombacho Cigars Tierra Volcan in Review

WRAPPER: Nicaraguan
BINDER: Nicaraguan
FILLER: Nicaraguan

FORMAT: Clasico (5.5x50) closed-foot
ORIGIN: Casa Favilli, Granada, Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Medium/Medium-full

NOTES:
Hardwoods | Spices | Molasses

Sweet in a dark, menacing manner. Like when Darth Vader had Luke remove his mask. Sweet and dark and also crisply-clean (I'm no longer attempting Star Wars analogies btw). Hardwoods, scorchy-toasted then roasted. Black pepper, smoked paprika, cumin. Then chili peppers and dried molasses. The aforementioned sweetness also includes distinct maple syrup and raw sugar. Superb balance of sweet & spice, clearly delineated. A pull or two of espresso rounds out the corners and leaves a crema atop the sneaky-savory profile.

At the opposite end are dark earthen notes of substantial nuances. Compost, manure, barnyard... with a hidey leather tucking them in. Middlings are drippings and climbings along w/ a tropical floral gambit. Lots of dark grains swirl there as well. Buckwheat & barley toasted stuffs. Anise drops in hard and sweetly, come the mid-point. Much goings-on as far as the complexities of intermingling altho bordered notes. A nifty transition or two (always toward sweet catching spice in balance). Finishes in a long evolving extension of all this + chicory.

Moderate smoke out-put smells like a fire in a patisserie that also roasts coffee--stomped out by people wearing new workboots. The burn-lie does require a slight and readily-accepted retouch each third. Ash is dark fugly clumps off a thick-ish mascara line. Draws well, but the head does soften-some; as does the rest of the cigar. Perhaps a tick under-stuffed. Seams stay tight tho, and the top-leaf is blemish-free. All told, this thing smokes sardonically in a way. Full of dark humor and considerable character.

TASTE: A-
DRAW: A-
BURN: B
BUILD: B+

FINAL GRADE: A-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

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::: very :::

On "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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On "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" [BOSC] from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

::: PUBLICATION HISTORY :::

The Strand Magazine (UK) October 1891

The Strand Magazine (US) November 1891

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Coll.) October 1892

::: NOTES :::

It's a short-sheeted bed of a tale to a certain extent, this BOSC. Let's unpack that sentiment. This isn't on account of an abbreviated cast, we have plenty there, including Mrs. Watson and Lestrade, who shows a certain side of himself in scolding Holmes for giving hope to the hopeless. “I am ashamed of you, Holmes,” said Lestrade with dignity after a few minutes’ silence. “Why should you raise up hopes which you are bound to disappoint? I am not over-tender of heart, but I call it cruel.” And then there are the concerned parties beyond Alice, the hopeless maiden... namely two old assholes who get what they have coming and James, a dummy kid.

Perhaps the shortness I feel is due to a lack of fleshing-out of these characters? Well, not in Lestrade as I just noted. Holmes does his usual deductive flex, this time in regards to Watson's shaving and then waxes philosophically on circumstantial evidence: “It may seem to point very straight to one thing, but if you shift your own point of view a little, you may find it pointing in an equally uncompromising manner to something entirely different." We even get an allusion to his Upon the Distinction Between the Ashes of the Various Tobaccos monograph for the 1st time in Adventures. (Mentioned prior in A Study in Scarlett.) All others get enough treatment.

A thought is that we're just a bit more fleshing-out there, and the addition of a couple rag-tag characters within an 'Australian section' on par with the American sections of A Study in Scarlett and Valley of Death--away from this being a fifth Doyle Holmes novel. Perhaps it's that. Just as likely or more-so, it's that the finger points quickly away from the obvious and incarcerated, and to no one in particular. There is no two jockeying for the finger--and it scans like a dropped ball in the endzone. Never is it mentioned that a son is unlikely to kill his father. This is true, isn't it? Asking for a friend--me--who has an 11-year-old son.

The settings are great, tho. ::: very ::: vintage 221b and Holmes fieldwork where the hound in him takes over, as he crawls around in the muck and the yuck of the English countryside, where thankfully it hasn't rained. I like how vivid the opening scene is too, sans being wordy, where Watson and Mrs. W speak briefly and knowingly and even reference the canon some. Big fan of meta, here. & here's a chance to mention the dialog writ large, and it's well-worth it to do so, because it's some of the best in said canon. Crisp with information yet full of legitimate conversational tones. Plenty of winks and nods, too.

I shook my head. “Many men have been hanged on far slighter evidence,” I remarked. 

“So they have. And many men have been wrongfully hanged.” 

“What is the young man’s own account of the matter?” 

“It is, I am afraid, not very encouraging to his supporters, though there are one or two points in it which are suggestive. You will find it here, and may read it for yourself.”

The good doctor's narrative skills are at their zenith and well, I find myself wanting this stretched into a novel more and more. I've yielded that for here, the characters were drawn well enough but there seems so much more meat on all their bones--particularly the good-hearted dummy from bad seed and his cocktail waitress lady friend, could be a tale told more fully. And more from the Aussie section that never happened, the hot-blooded and reckless Ballarat Gang. Led by Black Jack of Ballarat. The dying man said something of a rat in his son's arms.

... The culprit is--” “Mr. John Turner,” cried the hotel waiter, opening the door of our sitting-room, and ushering in a visitor.

“You didn’t know this dead man, McCarthy. He was a devil incarnate. I tell you that. God keep you out of the clutches of such a man as he. His grip has been upon me these twenty years, and he has blasted my life. I’ll tell you first how I came to be in his power. ...

“Farewell, then,” said the old man solemnly. “Your own deathbeds, when they come, will be the easier for the thought of the peace which you have given to mine.” Tottering and shaking in all his giant frame, he stumbled slowly from the room."

'Always leave them wanting more,' is at times the wisdom of those who see the well run dry. Here though it may be mandated more by the confines of The Strand's pages and editorial whims/wants. The problem is the problem and it is aborted as noted but still leads to a rather grand solution and seemingly happy ending. The dummy makes good or at least lands a lovely (to Watson's horndog eyes) wife. As to his barmaid--well, that's another and AGAIN could-be, grander tale. I spoke previously as to justice itself portraying the protagonist in Holmesian tales*, and here, it wills out. But not just that--evil dies--and with the need of only minimal murder. Beyond even that, tho... evil is erased because it is never learned of by the characters who remain. 

REMINDER to please check out I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, An infotaining spot for Sherlockian Scholarship. (As well as one used in some of my own research.)

CHARACTERS: 1.5/2 

SETTING: 1.5/2 

PLOT: 1/2 

PROBLEM: 1/2 

SOLUTION: 2/2 

FINAL GRADE: 7/10

I'd like to take a moment to remind you kind Gentlepersons that I write these thoughts under the assumption of you having read these adventures. They are readily available everywhere, including for free at Project Gutenberg.

::: COMPANION READING :::

Sherlock Holmes Upon the Distinction Between the Ashes of the Various Tobaccos or, My Cigar Smoking Views on Stacking Dimes & Silver Sheaths

*On "A Case of Identity" from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Check out more Kaplowitz Media. Sherlockiana.

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::: very :::

Cornell & Diehl Mad Fiddler Flake Pipe Tobacco in Review

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Cornell & Diehl Mad Fiddler Flake (The Old Ones) Pipe Tobacco in Review

CATEGORY: Cigar leaf based
BLEND: Virginia, Kasturi, Perique, Black Cavendish.
FLAVORING: none

CUT: Broken flake
PIPE: Old German Clay no. 3
INTENSITY: Medium-Medium-full

NOTES:

Apples | Spices | Pepper

I get Apple Jacks. Then peppery Perique w/ plum adornment, this inside of a rather cushy Virginia sweetness. So then, the Kasturi is appley-spicy? & quite exotically spiced with clove and cardamom. Funky! The Cavendish brings a separate sweetness, a bit savory and dense. There is a lot going on in this patisserie blend. Delineation ain't what it could be, which is my lone knock on this gregarious yet mysterious offering. I've long described Jazz as the special ed. class getting lost in the band room... here, they are wearing sneakers, and the instruments are somehow muted. 

The room-note is gorgeous (back to the bowl). There are thick clouds and they bring aromas of apple pastries stored inside a cedar humidor. You open it and voosh. Right in the kisser... but kindly-so. I've never been a non-smoker but I assume even those who are, would not at all mind this. Anise, cinnamon, and ginger all play in the air, on the mid-palate, and dance every weekend at that one seedy place downtown. The under-belly is apple orchard compost within distinct yet filtered sunlight. Simply the best cigar leaf blend I've smoked.

The broken flake acts best off a slight rubbing out, but moisture-wise, it's good to go. Smokes slowly, and do please take that lead... over-puffing just muddles further. Ash falls shy of fine powder but who cares? The heel is slight and dry. Pretty close to a care-free endeavor. On a retro-hale, there is a certain immediate coriander funkiness on display, but I like it. I understand this is in tobacco homage to the works of HP Lovecraft. I never got into his stuff, maybe I will with my next bowl of Mad Fiddler. 

TASTE: A-
AROMA: A
BURN: A-

FINAL GRADE: A-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

I gave this blend a first quick look-see on the November 3rd Kaplowitz To-day podcast. You can listen to that HERE.

Other C&D reviews:

Cornell & Diehl Haunted Bookshop
Cornell & Diehl Pirate Kake

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Ventura Cigar Co. Psyko Seven Connecticut in Review

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Ventura Cigar Co. Psyko Seven Connecticut in Review

WRAPPER: Ecuadorian Connecticut
BINDER: Dominican San Vicente
FILLER: Multiple country blend

FORMAT: Robusto (5.5x50)
ORIGIN: Occidental Cigar Factory, Dominican Republic
INTENSITY: Mild-medium/Medium

NOTES:

Citrus | Suede | Oak

I dunno. Tangy and a bit prickly? A candied lemon wedge rolled around in a sandbox? Oak and suede. Salted minerality on the back-end. A separate & undiluted Tang powder. A layer of bright earthiness twixt, which also forms the under-belly. Middlings are in&outs of a honeydew glimpse, light-roasted weak-brewed coffee. Pepper-spices are there in the midsection, erratically offering ginger, clove, and white peppercorn.

I do have a fondness for Ventura. I also have a similar spot in my heart for Ring of Honor Wrestling, an organization I hear is going tits up. Back to the cigar at hand, however... a pretty uneventful Connecticut with some troublesome aspects of being on-tilt toward sour and a bit gruffly-so. It smokes as if it didn't come-together without effort and perhaps tribulation. Herky-jerky. In a profile such as this, all hiccups are into a microphone.

Performance-wise, the thing likes to be puffed, anything near a lull will cause it to threaten petering-out. Excellent smoke out-put tho, if you stay engaged. A bit of a drama queen, maybe. Prone to theatrics. Ash stacks anywhere from not at all to ladder-rungs of a not quite near-inch.Burn-line wobbles, self-corrects. It's a thin mascara, but also a tick jagged. Draws smooth and fine. The eyes it wants on it develop a squint, on account of the profile's brightness.

TASTE: B
DRAW: B+
BURN: B
BUILD: B+

FINAL GRADE: B
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

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Excerpt II from the Kaplowitz Media. Unnamed Cigar Dictionary Project

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Excerpt II from the Kaplowitz Media. Unnamed Cigar Dictionary Project

As you Gentlepersons hopefully know or are at the ::: very ::: least now FINALLY aware of under that rock of yours, I am constructing a Cigar Dictionary. A book. It is yet to have been named. Its working title is "Unnamed Cigar Dictionary" (UCD). I will change that "As soon as possible" (ASAP). Nevertheless, the idea of the whole thing, the game plan, is that I will blog the process of creating & assembling the UCD on a non-scheduled basis. Included in these blog posts will be my italicized thoughts regarding said creating & assembling process--and as we get closer to it being a book proper, the process of that, as well. Please note that not everything, including the whole or part of definitions, will appear in the finished book. Each of these posts will look like some slight variation of this...

Dry Draw (or Cold Draw*) I was tough on this practice in its italicized connected entry. I stand by it 100%. I will add that a dry or cold draw does give a more useful look at the draw itself than it does the potential taste of the thing. However, this begs the question, “So what?” You cut the cap, you take a dry draw, it’s plugged. I suppose it saves you a few minutes and ¼ thimble of butane before pitching the thing. Look for other ways to fix plugged cigars before just giving up and throwing them out like you probably should have in the first place as [likely] noted within the plugged entry.

I'm not up to the Ps yet.

Entubado Originating in Cuba, a method of rolling filler leaves into tube-shapes, potentially giving the greatest air-flow and draw compared to both Book and Accordion methods. It is also the slowest and most toil-some of the three, in regards to completing the rolling process.

Of note, Entubado is the traditional way of creating a cigar, as it dates back to 17th century Spain. Therefore, other methods can be seen as varying shades of "good enough for government work." If not as just plain old shortcuts.

Frontmark In the make/model equation, frontmark would be the model. So that while ‘Buick’ is the make, Mike Weinstein’s ‘LeSabre’ is the frontmark.

Mike (a good friend of Kaplowitz Media.) was nice enough to add that the year of the model would also be at home in a frontmark. That said, 1989.

*Cold Draw (or Dry Draw) A tasting technique that has no merit whatsoever. The cap is removed and prior to lighting, a draw is taken and noted. The problem is, cigars are meant to be tasted while actually lit and burning. I understand that some folks retro-hale the cold draw. Some also put their underwear over their pants and run out into the streets yelling to their deceased ancestors. Another way to experience a cold draw is to lick the inside of your humi, Broski.

It bears mention that the practice of taking a cold/dry draw is predominantly done by cigar reviewers. Most of those guys stink. Not me, tho. Here's a LINK to my cigar review index as proof of that claim. Outside of that predominance, this technique seems limited to testing the quality of draw, not to take a falsified sneak-peak at taste.

All UCD excerpts will be listed in the Cigarticles & Pipelines page, found HERE.

A bit of a PS: I am toying with the idea of breaking down this dictionary into subsections. So instead of a straight A-Z run-thru, there would be sections of, say, cigar anatomy, leaf varietals, growing regions, etc. We shall see. In either event, I also half-mean this dictionary to be read or at least readable cover-to-cover, not just pawed thru to particular entries (although both are fine). Thought I'd mention that. Your feedback will most likely be unappreciated. I'm at the time of this writing, erring toward the A-Z approach for ease of plucking out definitions in a hurry.

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Kaplowitz To-day Daily Podcast Episodes for the Week of October 25-29

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Kaplowitz To-day Daily Podcast Episodes for the Week of October 25-29

Kaplowitz Media. Presents Kaplowitz Radio. Which in turn presents this program, Kaplowitz To-day. Kaplowitz To-day is a daily M-F show (barring Bank Holidays) typically about 15mins long per episode. Below are links to stated eps on Spotify. If you have a different preferred podcatcher, Kaplowitz To-day is most likely available there as well. thx

OCTOBER 25

Sherlock Holmes, A Case of Identity

OCTOBER 26

Redux review, ATL Cigars Magic

OCTOBER 27

Sherlock Holmes, Baritsu/Bartitsu

OCTOBER 28

Excerpt, Unnamed Cigar Dictionary

OCTOBER 29

A Halloween SPOOKtacular

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ATL Cigar Co. Libertad in Review

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ATL Cigar Co. Libertad in Review

WRAPPER: Nicaraguan Corojo
BINDER: Nicaraguan
FILLER: Nicaraguan

FORMAT: Robusto
ORIGIN: TABSA Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Medium

NOTES:

Cedar | Cocoa butter | Lemon meringue 

Coconut (from the 2/3 onward. A bit of a Mounds candy bar vibe, but milk not dark chocolate. Prior to that and thru-out, a butter cedar both braces and steers. Cushy swirlings therein of sweet exotic spice. Cocoa butter evolves its own nougat attachment. Lemon meringue is well-toasty. Underbelly is a bit of golden hay, chicken coop, and kaolin. A separate white pepper is there, extending alongside the sweet spices into a rather lengthy finish. Lots of sweet pale savoriness lingers on the cheeks.

Well-guided and nicely balanced. Smoothly complex with wide-curved transitions that let you keep your eyes on the road. Comings & goings of pale wildflowers and orange blossom honey. A graham cracker pie crust happens near the 3/3. Stays clean on the palate and sweet in the room-note. Aromas are almost S'mores-like, gently. Some of that cedar in a more rigid manner. Retro-hales opens-up the spice rack to show nutmeg and clove. Rather autumnal, really. A flake or two of black pepper. Cider flirts but only half-happens.

Performance-wise, the draw snugs a tick toward puff's end. That's fine. Burn-line requires zero touch-ups but is a bit ragged in spots along a fairly wide mascara-line. Seams hold. Shoulder pulls down a half-bit, nothing egregious. Excellent active smoke out-put. Passively, it slows quickly. Overall, it smokes at a slow rate of speed, building decent lengths of kinda ugly ash. All told a pleasant cigar that strikes me as a smart knuckle-baller, not a stud with high-heat. It's calmly entertaining, cerebral; if you take care to follow closely.

TASTE: A-
DRAW: B+
BURN: B+
BUILD: A-

FINAL GRADE: A-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

Other ATL reviews:

ATL Black
ATL Good Trouble
ATL Libertad
ATL Magic

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1st & 15th No.18 "Lake Station"

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1st & 15th No.18 "Lake Station"

Old taxi cabs and asking for directions thru two panels of bullet-proof glass. Also, the injustice of Trick-or-Treating and the popularity of the early-nineties Chicago Bulls. 

CLICK HERE TO EXPERIENCE ON-DEMAND

1st & 15th Live Streams on Instagram as near to the first & fifteenth of each month as is possible. Available on-demand after. w/ Comedy Cigars Music's Phil Kurut. Witty banter expressed over/near sometimes even about cigars.

Check out Phil's site > HERE

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On "A Case of Identity" from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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On "A Case of Identity" [IDEN] from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

::: PUBLICATION HISTORY :::

Strand Magazine (UK) September 1891

Strand Magazine (US) October 1891

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Coll.) October 1892

::: NOTES :::

The mom was in on it? "We never thought that she would have been so carried away?" Dastardly! Chubby homely Miss Mary Sutherland, she of scant smarts--appeals to Holmes. Not on a personal level, however, but in such a way as her concise communication allows him to flex his upholding of justice. Come to think of it, it seems more often than not it is justice itself that gets piled on, not Holmes himself... this differs from typical mystery fare--take Spillane's pablum, for instance--where woes are heaped on the protagonist himself until all hope seems lost & then... Come to further think, this is where much Sherlockian pastiche fails. 

"I had expected to see Sherlock Holmes impatient under this rambling and inconsequential narrative, but, on the contrary, he had listened with the greatest concentration of attention."

I digress.

And begin anew. A condensed opening conversation:

Holmes: “life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent."
Watson: "And yet I am not convinced of it,”
Holmes: "The husband was a teetotaler, there was no other woman, and the conduct complained of was that he had drifted into the habit of winding up every meal by taking out his false teeth and hurling them at his wife, which, you will allow, is not an action likely to occur to the imagination of the average story-teller."

A defeated Watson is offered consolation from the consulting detective's bejeweled & bedazzled "old gold, with a great amethyst in the centre of the lid" snuffbox gifted him by the King of Bohemia. A favorite thing of mine are these Holmesian callbacks to previous adventures the good doctor has narrated (or at times, not*). It's very much 'a page' from comic books of my youth "back in issue #123" world-building footnotes. Except, to be clear, well earlier. There's also a gaudy ring that Holmes is not at liberty to discuss. *I do like pastiche opportunities nigh as much as retro-fitting the presence of Moriarty.

Ever the action freak, Watson apparently just dropped in to ask if there was a game afoot, to which Holmes replies nope. Then right on cue, the vacuous face of Miss Sutherland being led into the Baker Street rooms by the boy in buttons. There is a typical Holmesian deduction flex prior to her entry, during her consultation, and after her departure. Mary made a fine audience, then the magician turns on his sidekick in snarky fashion because no one likes losing a good audience.

REMINDER to please check out both I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, As well as Interesting Though Elementary. Both are fantastically infotaining spots for Sherlockian Scholarship. (As well as used in some of my own research.)

“Quite an interesting study, that maiden,” he observed. “I found her more interesting than her little problem, which, by the way, is rather a trite one." Watson is bewildered yet, still, and as ever--and Holmes attempts to have him unravel it all himself. Or perhaps he's just fucking with him. "Sherlock Holmes clapped his hands softly together and chuckled." Oh, it's that second thing I mentioned. Then he goes on to congratulate his assistant on his marvelous grasp of color names. All good-hearted clean fun. It does make one wonder how much money Watson walleted in writing these cases out and selling them, I mean to put up with this sort of thing. Nevertheless...

All the while one gets the feeling that Holmes has it all solved at first blush. Just a couple minor details sans leaving 221b. Then he's throwing Mary's stepdad out the door about as mad as you'll ever see him. “Oh, no, sir. It is quite separate and was left me by my uncle Ned in Auckland. It is in New Zealand stock, paying 4½ per cent. Two thousand five hundred pounds was the amount, but I can only touch the interest.” Our man, Mr. Hosmer Angel, tried keeping Mary's moolah for his own comforts and did-so in a very unseemly way. Even in comparison to wedding a much older woman for money more-so than love. Circle back to the top and read this all again. Or not--it only counts for one pageview either way.

More? The characters seem one-dimensional, the alias is flimsy. But then again, so are the plot, problem, & solution. For a solution can be no grander than the problem. Setting is 1/2-way done. IDEN reads much like a filler episode. Perhaps I'm being a tad hard here. There are those interesting tie-ins as world-builders. There is a growing understanding of the Holmes/Watson dynamic. And there is that 'justice as protagonist' sentiment I yoinked out of my hat one evening whilst smoking an oily dark clay pipe of my own. Finally, and in terms of assembling a set, this is a fine spot for an orchestrated lull. Sandwiched between the boisterously flashy Red-Headed League and Boscombe Valley Mystery, where murder is first handled (in the short story form). 

CHARACTERS: 1/2
SETTING: 1/2
PLOT: .5/2
PROBLEM: .5/2
SOLUTION: .5/2

FINAL GRADE: 3.5/10

I'd like to take a moment to remind you kind Gentlepersons that I write these thoughts under the assumption of you having read these adventures. They are readily available everywhere, including for free at Project Gutenberg.

::: COMPANION READING :::

On "A Scandal in Bohemia" from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

On "The Red-Headed League" from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Check out more Kaplowitz Media. Sherlockiana.

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